#110
Idam stood in front of the gate of the Western-style house where Hayun was staying. However, he hesitated to enter.
“If Hayun stays with me… it’ll be hard for him too.”
He recalled the moment when Taemin had contacted Hayun yesterday. Though it seemed Taemin hadn’t discovered this place yet, Idam felt it was only a matter of time before he was found. Worried about whether it was right to continue accompanying Hayun, Idam turned away from the house and entered another alley. After walking for a while, he sensed someone’s presence from the opposite direction.
Is it the CEO?
Startled, Idam was on high alert like a hedgehog. This time, he was determined not to just run away, but to resist fiercely if necessary.
“Finally, we meet.”
Contrary to his concerns, the figure that appeared before him was a man with golden hair and blue eyes. He looked similar to Taemin, but the colors were subtly different.
“You are…”
It was Rickdi, whom he was supposed to meet this afternoon.
“Shall we talk?”
* * *
“Why isn’t Idam coming?”
Hayun, ready to go out, looked at the clock. Idam, who said he’d be back soon, had been out of contact for three hours now. Moreover, since Idam currently didn’t have a phone, Hayun’s anxiety and uneasiness intensified.
“Haa… Surely he hasn’t been caught by Ji Taemin again?”
Feeling unnecessarily anxious, Hayun bit his nails. He felt even more uneasy after hearing about Taemin’s family from Rickdi. He recalled the day he had met Rickdi recently.
After leaving the cafe, they arrived at a nearby Italian restaurant. Despite it being peak dining hours, it was eerily quiet with no customers around.
‘I’ve wanted to meet you for a while, so I’m glad this opportunity came up.’
‘Why on earth are you saying Idam will be killed by that bastard Ji Taemin?’
‘Well, you see…’
Rickdi informed him about Taemin’s family background and his vicious side. After hearing this, Hayun felt that Idam had unfortunately gotten involved with a family that was worse than he could have imagined. He wondered why, of all things, Idam’s pheromones had to be compatible with Ji Taemin’s.
Hayun’s existing guilt towards Idam grew even more. He shouldn’t have sent Idam in his place on the day he was supposed to meet Han Jiwoo. If he had gone himself as originally planned, Taemin would have just seen Hayun as a disgusting omega and left.
Faced with this already overturned fate, Hayun had to feel bitter. This made him even more determined to rescue Idam from the quagmire of Ji Taemin. He wanted to help as much as he could, but…
Hayun stared blankly at his phone. His mind was filled with thoughts of Idam. Just then, the screen changed, and a message arrived from Rickdi.
“What? Rickdi met Idam?”
He wondered what this situation was about.
Rickdi had hostility towards Taemin. Hayun understood his attitude towards Idam, given what he had heard last time. But something felt off, making him anxious.
Hayun immediately called Rickdi. However, he didn’t answer. Hayun’s already anxious heart raced even more.
* * *
The place Idam went with Rickdi was a building on a tree-lined street outside the city. It was a newly constructed building reminiscent of a massive tower. Come to think of it, Idam remembered that during the last gathering, Rickdi had introduced himself as running a pharmaceutical company.
“Hello, President!”
All the employees greeted Rickdi. After seeing only Taemin’s crew-cut employees and beast-like people, it felt strange to see these normal-looking individuals.
After taking the elevator, Idam found himself in an office with a clear view of a lake. Thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows and modern interior, it felt almost like a unique cafe.
Settled on the sofa, Idam drank tea with floating citron pieces. Perhaps because it was warm, it tasted even sweeter.
“Is it okay that it’s not iced?”
“Yes, it’s fine. It’s not that hot anyway.”
Although summer was approaching in Korea, having come from the tropical island of Jihwado, Idam didn’t feel the heat much.
“That’s good.”
Rickdi smiled. Idam thought he was a handsome man in a different way from Taemin, giving off a glamorous feeling. Touching the teacup, Idam cautiously opened his mouth.
“Why did you help me?”
“Pardon?”
“I heard from Hayun. That you persuaded Dr. Im Hoyoung to bring me to Korea.”
“That’s right. Can I call you Idam… instead of Yeo Idam?”
Idam’s eyes widened at Rickdi’s sudden change in addressing him.
“Yes… or you can call me Idam-i if you like.”
“Haha!”
Suddenly, Rickdi laughed heartily. Flustered, Idam wondered if he had said something wrong and replayed his words.
“I’ll just call you Idam.”
Rickdi’s expression turned serious as he continued with a slight eye-smile.
“I helped you because I thought it would be dangerous if you stayed in Jihwado.”
“I see…”
“Do you know much about Taemin’s family?”
“No, just a little.”
“May I ask how much you know?”
“I… I only know that they’re involved with gangsters, run a business using venomous spiders, and have a genetic disease.”
“You know quite a bit. Did you know that to treat this genetic disease, they need to be compatible with an extreme recessive omega?”
“Yes…”
Idam felt strange, as if he was hearing someone else’s introduction.
“When I first saw you at Baekwol Hotel, I sensed you were an omega. Omegas have a peculiar aura about them. You’re so beautiful that at first, I thought you might be an extreme dominant omega.”
“Oh no, I’m not.”
Idam waved his hands, feeling embarrassed at Rickdi’s sudden compliment. His cheeks flushed.
“But when I saw Taemin hiding his trait, I suspected something was off.”
“I see…”
“The pheromone rejection syndrome Taemin suffers from is a rare disease unique to his family.”
“Yes…”
Idam nodded, recalling what the employees in Jihwado had said.
“Do you know why this disease occurred?”
Idam remembered hearing from Hayun during a recent phone call that it had developed due to illegal activities.
“Do you remember the spider called ‘Jeramy Goliath Black’ that we saw at Baekwol Hotel last time?”
“I remember.”
Idam recalled the black spider that was as big as his head. At the same time, he naturally thought of the tattoos on Taemin’s chest and back.
“That spider was created by Ji Taehwa, the founder of Baekwol Corporation and currently Taemin’s grandfather. In his youth, as the leader of the Baekwol faction, he ran a toxic substance business. The name Jeramy comes from ‘Palaeocharinus jerami,’ a creature that went extinct 400 million years ago. This Jeramy looked like a spider but had ten legs and no silk glands, so it was called a false spider. However, later, a spider called Maries jerami was discovered. It was called Jeramy because it looked like Palaeocharinus jerami. This spider had eight legs and silk glands.”
Idam listened attentively to Rickdi’s words.
“More importantly, it had a potent venom 100 times stronger than cyanide. However, Maries jerami was greatly affected by temperature and was aggressive, making it difficult to handle. So, to make it easier to manage, Taehwa forcibly crossbred Maries jerami with other venomous spiders. In this process, Maries jerami developed a mutated venom. Taehwa, who was present at the scene, was bitten by Maries jerami and poisoned. Being an extreme dominant alpha, he barely survived, but due to the remaining poison in his body, his pheromone glands were affected, causing him to develop symptoms of being unable to accept omega pheromones.”
“Ah.”
“So he sought all kinds of ways to treat it. He even initiated new drug development. He illegally employed people and even had test subjects, but the results were not good. He was contemplating whether he had to live his whole life unable to accept omegas. One day, while observing the test subjects, Taehwa was exposed to the pheromones of an extreme recessive omega. Not only was he fine, but his mind seemed to clear. Craving the omega’s pheromones, Taehwa stayed close to that extreme recessive omega, and after several months, his rejection syndrome was completely cured.”
Idam felt bitter as he recalled his relationship with Taemin once again upon hearing Rickdi’s words.
“That’s when he realized. What was needed to cure this disease wasn’t a drug taken or injected, but the pheromones of a living omega. However, Taehwa had suffered from this disease alone and wanted to hide its cause. He quietly disposed of the extreme recessive omega who had helped him and disbanded the new drug development team as it was no longer needed.”
“……”
Idam wondered how a person could be so cruel.
“But then he found out that his son, born afterward, also showed symptoms of omega rejection. In other words, the toxic components in Taehwa’s body had been fully inherited by his son. He then researched this poison in depth with a doctor friend and discovered a new fact.”
“A new fact?”
“Yes. This poison only reacts to alphas. So if one doesn’t manifest as an alpha, there’s no problem. But his son manifested as a dominant alpha. So they used the same method to treat him using an extreme recessive omega. However, this disease continued to Taemin, the grandson. He realized that this disease would continue to be inherited. So he wanted to end this genetic disease with Taemin. He revived the discontinued new drug development team. He officially named it the N.M.P team and accelerated development. Among the test subjects recruited at this time, there was a beta named Yeo Seunghwan.”
“Huh?”
Idam’s eyes widened at the familiar name. It was a name he couldn’t forget even if he tried.
“You mean… my father was once a test subject?”
“Yes.”
* * *
Leaving the obstetrics and gynecology department, Taemin immediately got into the sedan. In his hand were the test results and pregnancy confirmation certificate he had just forcibly taken from the female doctor. He looked at the results over and over, his eyes sparkling.
“My goodness…”
In contrast, Secretary Kang was dumbfounded and conflicted. Yeo Idam is pregnant… pregnant… It felt like a bolt from the blue. Moreover, according to Im Hoyoung, Idam was supposed to be unable to have children. He couldn’t understand what was happening now.
What was even more shocking was that Taemin didn’t seem surprised at all about Idam’s pregnancy, as if he already knew about it, and was instead beaming with joy. In other words, this pregnancy wasn’t something that happened suddenly like a car accident, but seemed to have been intentionally caused.
“Wow, what a real piece of shit.”
Secretary Kang unconsciously blurted out his criticism towards Taemin. Realizing what he had done, he quickly covered his mouth. Thinking he was done for, he cautiously watched Taemin’s reaction.
However, Taemin seemed so absorbed in the fact of Idam’s pregnancy that he didn’t seem to have heard Secretary Kang’s words at all. He just kept looking at the confirmation certificate and laughing. Secretary Kang sighed in relief.
After rejoicing for a while, Taemin gradually calmed down and resumed his businesslike expression.
“Yeo Idam is with Jang Hayun right now, correct? Have you confirmed this?”
“We’ve located Jang Hayun’s house, but we haven’t yet confirmed if they’re together there. We’re currently monitoring the situation.”
“Well, in the end, that fairy has nowhere else to go.”
“What should we do?”
“Let’s go to that house right now. If he just left the hospital, there’s a high chance he’ll go home. This is our chance to catch him.”
“I see…”
“We absolutely can’t let him slip away this time.”
Taemin’s eyes blazed like fire. Secretary Kang suddenly became curious about Taemin’s future actions.
“Um… if you meet Yeo Idam again, what do you plan to do?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
With an expression that suggested it was a silly question, Taemin looked at the wedding ring on his left finger.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
